


When We Were Wallflowers

by sassy_curmudgeon



Category: Bridgerton (TV), Bridgerton Series - Julia Quinn
Genre: BAMF Penelope, Community: 1sentence, F/M, Falling In Love, I Will Go Down With This Ship, No beta we die like Edmund, Oblivious Colin Bridgerton, Slow Romance, The Author Regrets Nothing, Women Being Awesome
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-28
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-12 22:41:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,205
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29766714
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sassy_curmudgeon/pseuds/sassy_curmudgeon
Summary: Detailing the love story of Penelope and Colin, based both on the show and books but also on my own romantic imaginings. Will jump back and forth in time from their youth and beyond.
Relationships: Colin Bridgerton/Penelope Featherington
Comments: 8
Kudos: 44





	When We Were Wallflowers

**Author's Note:**

> Just thought I would start a great writing exercise before I dive into a historical romance fic. I found a wonderful list of one-word prompts and I think I will combine this with one-sentence exercises. Tell me what you think 😊  
> Be warned- blatant overuse of the semicolon and hyphen!

**Regret**

He is sitting in an inn outside of Marseilles the first time he feels a pang in his heart- it leaves him hunched over, wincing at the sharp pain, and can only think- _I should not have left London so soon after her father died; I should not have left her so alone._

**Fulfilled**

Penelope fights a blush when Colin’s gloved hand squeezes hers gently as he whirls and whirls her around the ballroom.

**Family**

He watches Hyacinth chuck a biscuit at Gregory and bites back a chuckle at the familiar and comforting bickering of all his siblings around the table.

**Obsession**

Marina is the most beautiful woman he has ever seen in his life- her smile, her hands, even the shape of her face are radiant; it is only after the fact, after he dodged that bullet that he stops and wonders if he was running towards a woman he had thought he loved or in fact was running from a feeling altogether that he was too afraid to face.

**Tested**

Watching Cressida glide away with a smirk after delivering her latest cruel barb, Penelope took a fortifying but trembling breath and swore she would not cry this evening, she would not give Cressida the satisfaction.

**Soft**

Everything about Pen is so sumptuous, her skin and hair is like silk and he wants nothing more in the world than to twist a red strand in his fingers and give in to her completely.

**Potatoes**

Colin bit the inside of his lip until he is sure it bled when the roasted potatoes that Penelope presented to him so proudly (after they escaped to a secluded cottage by the seaside) caved in on themselves before her disbelieving eyes; he will never laugh at her but oh God, it makes him love her more.

**Weakness**

He frowns watching Pen being led by Lord Glover to dance, a rare occurrence, and misses his brothers exchange lightning-quick glances behind him- Penelope’s eyes may be fixed politely on Edward Glover’s face but Colin eyes only follow _her_ for most of the evening.

**Wind**

He stands by the bow of the ship, the salty sea air in his face and his hair whipping about in a mad frenzy- Colin feels free enough to reach the ends of the earth.

**Taste**

Penelope swears she will swoon for the first time in her life as Colin presses her back into the column around the corner of the ballroom and searches her eyes, large tan hands cradling her soft cheeks, and he leans slowly, slowly, until at last she feels the feather-light touch of his warm lips upon hers.

**Whimsy**

She feels her husband gently loosen her stays while pressing his lips to her shoulder; Penelope turns and gives him a faint, fey smile and watches him watch her drop her stays to the ground and lift her chemise slowly- his eyes already dark with heat and anticipation.

**Follower**

The girl is laughing as she yanks Colin’s hand, guiding him to her room above the tavern, Colin laughs along with her but even now he feels his heart is not in this and wishes to hurry this up so he can sleep and catch his ship on the morrow to his next exciting destination- he hadn’t done this type of thing in awhile and wonders fleetingly if the dullness in his chest is homesickness.

**Agony**

Penelope rips her hand out of his, eyes stark but mouth determined- “I have learned to stand alone, Mister Bridgerton, and will wait all my life if I must, will risk dying alone, for a dream of a chance, rather than give in to my treacherous heart and wed a man who caused me nothing but pain and had to convince himself to ‘ _love_ ’ me, as you say,”- later that evening, alone in his lodgings across town, he slid to the ground and let the tears flow.

**Burning**

He cannot sleep this evening and refused his brothers’ request to join them for a drink and cigars after their evening out; he cannot stop thinking of her, the girl he has known for so long and considers his dear friend, yet tonight his mutinous thoughts betray him for it’s her bright eyes and shy smile and lustrous red hair and heavenly curves he can’t shake free from his mind- he shouldn’t allow his thoughts to be so base, he thinks, even after his hand creeps under the bed linen to grip himself as he lay in this longing, guilty flush.

**Peace**

Somewhere in the coast of Sardinia he lay on the warm, white sand, torrid sun beating down on him, and watches the sea gulls fly above him with abandon; he wonders if it is true what some say that souls are reborn after death and thinks only fleetingly that if he were a bird he would not even need a ship to take him places.

**Pause**

She is sitting in the drawing room with Eloise, whispering gossip and nonsense, Hyacinth idly tapping away at the pianoforte, when she turns her face away for a moment, still giggling, and sees Colin standing just beyond the doorway shrouded in shadows and the intensity in his green eyes wipes the mirth from her before he straightens and hurries away.

**Comfort**

Lady Violet Bridgerton squeezes her hands gently, her smile warm, her eyes kind.

**Overcome**

Penelope consults with both her publisher and her banker one rainy Sunday morning- whilst hurrying back home she fought and failed to hide the grin on her face, knowing full well most young ladies of high society were never this independently wealthy; Lady Whistledown had given her more than fame and wealth, Penelope now had the choice and the chance of freedom.

**Isolation**

He consults with the Captain of the ship for a bit then retreats to his quarters after having refused to drink ale with some of the other passengers; the ship is avoiding Greece due to the fighting and he idly watches the timbers above him while he wonders if he is growing entirely too old for this nomadic lifestyle.

**Unfamiliar**

“We of the fairer sex, as you men love to call us, are not afforded the freedom to go about as we please and chase our dreams and travel, so I thank you, brother, to mind you tongue and not lecture me on what I ought to do!” Eloise continued to rant at him, yet it was Pen’s eyes glittering oddly and her nodding silently that caused his belly to twist with guilt.

**Lost**

After her father died and her family’s name was dragged through the mud, after Marina, after the man she loved had run off to his travels, Penelope looked up at the stars with tears in her eyes and wondered when her time to shine would come- or was she destined to be alone always?

**Sentimental**

Colin found some of the letters his father had written to his mother so many year before, and it gave him hope in his heart that one day he would be as good a man as his father had been and, more importantly, would be such a good and kind and loving husband- one day. 

**Author's Note:**

> Fun fact: I suck at choosing titles and picked this from a random book title generator and idk I just liked it :)
> 
> I will start a multi-chapter Polin fic relatively soon but wanted to start off with this since several years have gone by since I have written a fic or anything for a fandom. I have enough prompts for more chapters but want to see what you guys think as well.


End file.
